Irwin Jacobs formally ended his $45 million Plaza de Panama plan Tuesday to remove traffic and parking from the center of Balboa Park.

The Qualcomm cofounder, who had been willing to cover most of the cost himself, acted in the wake of a Superior Court judge's ruling that the plan violated a city ordinance related to historic sites.

“I am saddened at the court’s decision that has effectively ended the Plaza de Panama project," Jacobs said in a statement on behalf of his Plaza de Panama Committee. "It is a shame that this action could prevent us from having the pleasure of watching children happily playing in a car-free Plaza de Panama, or enjoying a quiet cup of coffee in the Plaza de California."

He added, "In the future, when it becomes obvious to all that the use of the Plaza de Panama and the Plaza de California for traffic thoroughfares and parking is not a reasonable beneficial use, the city will have available for reference detailed plans and a comprehensive EIR (environmental impact report)" that the Judge Timothy Taylor upheld Monday.

Jacobs had called for closing the Plaza de Panama in front of the San Diego Museum of Art and diverting traffic from the Cabrillo Bridge at the park's west entrance, via a bypass that would lead to an 800-space parking garage south of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

That diversion would free up the western El Prado, two plazas and connecting roads and create pedestrian-only spaces.

Jacobs, who had spent $8 million on planning, said in a followup interview that he would not participate in any followup discussions over an alternative that doesn't accomplish his goals of clearing all cars and traffic in the park center.

"I've told the committee that the project is over," he said on KPBS radio. "We made a great effort."

To U-T San Diego, he said he had no other major park projects in mind to support financially and that, at the least, he'd save donating as much as $22 million more toward the plaza effort.

"I will take a look at other projects around the country and the world," he said. "We'll be taking a look at those."

There is one way that Jacobs' plan could spring back to life.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said Tuesday the City Council could amend the ordinance cited by the judge as an impediment to the plan and pass a "project specific exemption."

"That is one option," Goldsmith said, and he will likely discuss it with the council at a closed-door session scheduled Feb. 26.

If the council agrees, Goldsmith said, it would take several months to draft, post and debate -- and possibly override mayoral veto, since Mayor Bob Filner continues to oppose the Jacobs plan -- before it could become law.

Filner's predecessor, Jerry Sanders, had heartily backed Jacobs in what would have been a centerpiece change to the park in time for its 100th anniversary of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

It's unclear how the council might vote, since the membership has changed since the November election, and what the public feedback might be.